I hope they're happy
by MangaMan250
Summary: With a broken spirit, Naruto suffers alone, but will that all change? YandereHina Warning: incredibly depressive content
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: don't own Naruto, this is completely 'raw' i haven't checked it over and was released only because i'm so incredibly lazy with writing at the moment, hope it's at least acceptable!

He sat there, eyes still closed as if trying to sleep while being awake as he ate another spoonful of cereal, after doing so he decided he had enough and slumped back against the chair that creaked in protest, his arms hung over the side as he let his body go somewhat limp. He still had plenty of time so he didn't need to worry – funny, that was why he woke up so early in the first place.

With a grunt and a groan he hoisted himself up out of the chair, using the wooden table as momentary support to help him up, he forced his eyes open which was definitely not a nice feeling, and headed towards the bathroom where he could be in bliss for ten to fifteen minutes, he had always enjoyed showers as they tended to help him relax a little.

After the time he had allocated had passed he came out of the bathroom feeling brand new, his mind was put at ease and he no longer felt his fatigue. He walked towards his bedroom where he had laid out his clothes the previous night, folded on his bedside table was his infamous everyday outfit.

'Hmm…maybe it is a little bright after all.' Naruto whined in his mind but quickly shook of the thoughts trying to revert back to the bouncy, energetic blonde that people took him for,  
'Orange is a great colour! It's definitely better than those depressing colours that Sasuke-teme wears!' Naruto thought to himself after regaining his positive outlook.

After getting dressed he let out a content sigh, his headband hung loosely over the edge of the bedside table, nearly touching the floor due to its length, he was proud of that headband and he cherished it for many reasons, the main one being that it was in fact Iruka-sensei's and the man had given it to him, making it all the more special. He tied it around his forehead proudly but felt blonde locks tickling his forehead beneath it.

'Mmhm, maybe it's time for a haircut. Oh well!' he thought as he untied it and decided to wear it around his neck just this once, he hadn't realised that his hair had become so long as he didn't have any mirrors in his apartment, he just didn't feel the need to stare at himself and mess around with his appearance – he was a ninja, not a super-model, as long as he was presentable that was good enough for him.

With the headband now loosely hanging around his neck he went over his equipment quickly, just like the old man had told him to, every day before he left the house. Nodding in satisfaction he headed towards the door, glancing back over his shoulder he looked to see if he had forgotten anything, after scanning the room he decided that he had everything he needed and set foot out of the door before locking it.

Heading down the long flight of stairs he thought of his options, he was early after all,  
'Maybe I'll take a nice slow walk to the training ground, there's no reason to rush right?' Naruto thought to himself with a smile, after coming to the bottom of the staircase the first villager he seen glared at him.  
'Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Guess I'll just head to the training grounds now…' he thought a little saddened before perking up again.  
'Never mind! If I show up early then it will show that I am a reliable ninja that people can count on!' and with that in mind he raced off towards the training ground for team 7, thankfully he didn't have any missions today, not that he minded them – sure they were a little boring but it did bring home a little extra cash, he just preferred training because it gave him the chance to improve and team training was the only time he got to train with anyone else.

He soon arrived at the bridge, the meeting place for team 7 but after looking around he didn't see any other members of his team, but decided he wouldn't waste time however instead of doing physical training he decided he would meditate, after all, knowing his luck he would start early and tire himself out a little and then Kakashi would come along and wear him into the ground.  
'Not today thank you.' Naruto thought before sitting Indian style and closing his eyes.

He enjoyed meditating when he got the time, it was nice, just like his showers that he loved so much it gave him the chance to take a moment and just relax, even if it was considered a form of mental training. His relaxation was soon broken when he heard footsteps as someone was walking across the bridge, his eyes fluttered open and he blinked a few times afterwards for good measure.

"Oh! Hey Sakura-chan! You're early too!" He chirped happily, he managed to keep voice down, but still sounded very enthusiastic too see the girl, after all she said being loud was annoying so he'd try his best to dull it down a bit, his teammates opinion of him was important to him, especially Sakura's.  
"What do you want Naruto…you're not going to ask me out on a date again are you?" she groaned sleepily, Naruto tilted his head in confusion, still keeping his eyes on the girl.

"Ask you on a date? Why would I do that Sakura-chan?" he asked, his head still tilted, she frowned  
"What do you mean 'why would you do that?!' am I suddenly not good enough to date?!" She asked aggressively, shaking her fist to cement her anger. Naruto had thrown his arms out in front of him in denial.  
"N-No, no it's nothing like that! You already said you didn't want to, I'm not gunna pester you about it." He explained quickly in attempt to stop the beating that he could feel approaching, luckily for him, Sakura stopped shaking her fist and seemed to calm down before blinking at him.  
"Huh…well good! That would be annoying!" She huffed and Naruto just nodded in agreement as if to show that he wasn't annoying.

"What are _you_ doing here so early anyway?" She questioned as she turned to look at the blonde  
'Well…you see I've been having nightmares ever since…' he thought.  
"I thought I'd show everyone that I could be a reliable ninja too!" he explained before giving the cherry blossom girl a grin, although he doubted that was the reason she was here so early.  
"What about you Sakura-chan? Where you excited to get here too?" he asked happily.

"Of course! How couldn't I be excited, I'll get to see my Sasuke-kun!" She declared for all the training ground to hear. Naruto offered a smile, not quite sure what to say in response to the announcement though he did feel that pull on his heart strings and that strange sinking feeling in his stomach that he had grown accustomed too.

Naruto shut everything out once more and after shifting from cheek to cheek in an attempt to get comfortable he closed his eyes, focusing on the gentle trickling of the stream beneath him and the bridge.  
"What are you doing!? Do you know how rude that is?!" Sakura screeched causing the blondes eyes to jump open; he itched the back of his head nervously and gave an apologetic grin.  
"I didn't think you'd want to talk to me…" Naruto said before chuckling nervously.  
"Hmph! I don't!" she said as she crossed her arms and turned to face the other way, he shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes once again.

Time passed without further conversation, the sounds of nature passing through Naruto's mind as he slipped into relaxation once again, he felt a little bad that he wasn't talking to Sakura after she had told him off, but sent it to the back of his mind, she told him she didn't want to talk which meant if he talked to her now he would be annoying, and he didn't want to be annoying.

He heard footsteps once again and wondered if it was Sakura pacing up and down again but the shriek of 'Sasuke-kun!' soon told him otherwise, he decided not to open his eyes though, he guessed Sakura came early so that she could spend time alone with Sasuke, embracing the pang in his chest once more, he decided to fade into the background while to the two talked, well while Sakura talked.

"Hn." Was Sasuke's cool reply to the pinkette as she greeted him, though that was not enough to show that he wasn't interested, of course it wasn't, that would be too easy. A scowl came across Sasuke's features as he did his best to filter out the girls deafening noise, but she just went on and on, he didn't even know what the hell she was talking about. His frowned deepened, was she serious? He wasn't even answering her; she was literally having a conversation with herself.

"So what do you say Sasuke-kun?" She asked with a light blush forming across her cheeks,  
"Sure." Sasuke answered not knowing what he was answering too, but if it shut up for even a little while, he would have chance to recover before his ears started bleeding.  
"Really?!" she shrieked, Sasuke frowned, his answer resulted in happiness for her, which ment sorrow for him.  
"No." Sasuke said which caused the cherry blossom to deflate and sigh heavily, looks like he managed to escape.

"Yo." Kakashi said while perched on the red handrail of the bridge, peering down at his students.  
"You're late!" Sakura accused, as she shook her fist at the silver haired jonin who just shrugged before his gaze landed on Naruto, he scratched the back of his head before speaking.  
"Uhm…what's up with Naruto, is he asleep or something?"  
"He said he was meditating or something like that, probably just an excuse to goto sleep." Sakura replied.  
"I'm not asleep." Naruto said before opening his eyes and giving a smile to the jonin he called his sensei.

Kakashi shrugged, he hadn't really saw Naruto as the meditating type…maybe it was something to do with being a jinchuuriki.  
'Well whatever, I better set these three to work before they start complaining.' Kakashi thought with a sigh, 'Although that does mean I get to sit and read my book while I 'observe' them.' He reminded himself while fighting down a chuckle.

"Oi, dobe, why is someone like _you _meditating?" Sasuke asked with a smirk, not even looking towards his target, Naruto let a grin bless his features before retaliating.  
"What's the matter teme? Is someone like _you_ too stuck up to be seen doing it?" Naruto asked which earned him a low growl from the Uchiha.  
"Naruto! Why do you always have to talk to Sasuke like that?!" Sakura bellowed in anger,  
"I'd also like to know, Naruto." Kakashi agreed.

Naruto gritted his teeth, surely they weren't _that _biased! They just heard him start the argument in the first place, even if that was just his way of communicating.  
"I-I'll tell you later Sakura-chan." He said with a grin before he noticed Kakashi frown,  
"Anything you can tell Sakura, you can tell the rest of us, we're your teammates, Naruto." He said sternly which caused Naruto to sigh.

"I have a theory." Naruto said bluntly before giving them a foxy grin, he noticed Sakura tilt her head in curiosity so he leaned over to the now sitting girl and whispered in her ear in a sing song voice.  
"I-know-how-you-can-make-Sasuke-like-you!" he sung in his hushed voice, the words made Sakura flush a deep red before she leaned back and nodded to his agreement of being told later.

"A theory?" Kakashi questioned causing the blonde to fight down a chuckle,  
"That's right, a theory that Sasuke is just as big of a teme as I thought!" He announced causing the jonin to sigh.  
'Well that was a somewhat disappointing theory.' The copycat thought before he set them off on their training, he wasn't a fan of bickering, it reminded him too much of his own team.

Naruto was glad that he spent his time meditating earlier this morning, he found himself panting for breath, as he predicted todays training was based around physical attributes…as usual, he couldn't exactly say that he had learnt anything today, but he did get to practice taijutsu as well as get a good work out, so he was somewhat content.

He looked around for his team but saw that they were walking off without him, an easy mistake to make, Naruto slumped down against the tree, it wasn't exactly a chore to say goodbye to someone but they didn't know how much that small act would have brightened his day. Instead he let out a defeated sigh noting that he had been brushed off as soon as the chance came, though he did realise Sakura was waiting for him, it was only because she wanted something from him.

'Don't be such a Sasuke-teme, they just don't know you yet that's all, they'll come around!' Naruto announced to himself trying to re-energize his happy persona, with that, he walked towards the bridge and slumped down, not speaking to Sakura but making his presence clear.

"So…" she said awkwardly which Naruto was completely 'oblivious' to,  
"did you mean what you said?" she asked after clearing her throat in attempt to grab the blondes attention that she already had.  
"Yup." Naruto said casually, the pain in his heart coming back with force, he let it linger, it was strange, but he had come to like the feeling… it often meant he was sacrificing something to make others happy and that in turn made him happy.

That's right, every time he did something similar to what he was about to do, every time he killed his own happiness for the sake of another, which would definitely go unnoticed and un-appreciated this feeling would pay him a visit. First he felt the slight pull on his heart which then jump started the next sensation, the sinking feeling that he got in his stomach as a piece of his happiness was drowned out and sent to the depths of his soul. Next was perhaps the feeling he enjoyed, along with the first, the strange tickling in his throat that dared him to sob which was soon followed by the not so pleasant urge to cry.

"W-Well?" Sakura asked as nicely as she could, but she was becoming impatient, though she couldn't screw this up! Then a frown spread across her face.  
"Let me guess… for you to tell me I have to go on a date with you." She said dryly as she looked at him with distaste.  
"No! I was just thinking how to explain it to you." Naruto said quickly, surely she didn't think that lowly of him, and then again she was only asking, there was no need to be so defensive.  
"Sorry, sorry…" he said with a sigh which confused her as she was about to apologise.

"You see… when you call Sasuke a name, or insult him then he will bite." He explained,  
"Bite?" Sakura asked, confused by what he meant, Naruto scratched the back of his head before continuing his explanation, only in a better thought out manner.  
"Well, he doesn't talk and he seems to get annoyed when you talk _at_ him, but when you insult him, he'll talk back to you and even start conversations like he did with me about meditating, and eventually before you even know it you'll be talking all the time." Naruto explained in the happiest voice he could muster.

Sakura didn't notice his pain as she lapped up the information he had given her, it all made sense, it was perfect! Sasuke talks to Naruto way more than he talks to her, even if it is bickering that must be Sasuke's way of showing that he is some sort of strange friend of Naruto's.  
"Great!" She announced and with that she soon disappeared without another word, Naruto stood up silently and after taking one last glance at the large open plain he headed towards the village.

His eyes were fixed on the dirt road below him, though he soon managed to tear them away, he didn't want to be questioned, scratch that, he didn't want people to think that he was weak or the glares would turn into something worse. He supressed a sigh as he looked around the busy village, people swarming the high street, wandering from shop to shop, going about their daily business, his attention soon wandered to the proud Hokage building, its grand red colour fitting for the fire nation.

'Nah, the old man is probably busy…I shouldn't bother him.' He thought as he headed down one of the less lively streets before turning to head down an alley, he often took this route home, but then he stopped deciding that there was no use in going home, if he did he could let his act wash away with his tears but it was too early for that just yet.

He was soon climbing steep, grey stone staircases which lead to the top of the Hokage monument, no one went up there, ever, which was something he seriously couldn't understand yet was thankful for. He sat atop the one of the great mountain carvings, upon the head of the Yondaime –ironic, the head of the man that had brought him so much pain also provided him with comfort.

He stared out down at the village, the hurt and pained feelings mounting up, yet he bottled them; he was just being weak. Down below looked like a perfect scene to him; he wished he could be a part of it, a _welcomed_part of it. The people were happily wandering the streets, safe and protected by their valued shinobi as their cheery conversations filled the air with a nice atmosphere. The sun's rays beat down on the village casting a bright welcoming glow over it which caused Naruto to sigh and looked up at the crystal clear sky, not a cloud in sight, it was no wonder he was so hot.

'Some day… someday they'll welcome me, but for now I have to keep making people happy, no matter what.' Naruto thought to himself, determination flowing through him as he clenched his fist in a silent promise.

"I figured I'd find you here." Said a voice that he instantly recognised as Kakashi's, he turned his head slowly to look over his shoulder, doing his best to hide the fact that he had been scared out of his skin by the jonin.  
"Kakashi-sensei? Uhh… oh I see. That's why you came." Naruto said while he smiled his fake smile like an expert, even Kakashi didn't see through it, instead he offered an eye smile which while seemed almost genuine, Naruto was able to see the irritation behind the man's act, as if just being near Naruto was a chore in itself.

"I just wanted to ask Sakura-chan on a date that's all…I just said those things about Sasuke so I'd get a chance to speak to her alone." Naruto said giving what he thought was a flawless downtrodden speech, of course the hokage would of seen through it, the old man actually cared about him, so he managed to catch his slip ups every now and again.

"I see, well if that's all, I'll be going." Kakashi said with the slightest edge which Naruto immediately found the hidden meaning to, something along the lines of 'I can't believe I wasted my time here.'  
"Sorry sensei, I didn't mean to waste your time like that." The blonde said with a sad smile which made Kakashi release a guilty sigh, but didn't speak again before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto threw his arms behind him and let his head rest on his hands and he laughed with all that he had, it was the only thing he could do to stop himself from bursting into tears right then. After his laughter died down and he managed to lock away his emotions once more as he left the monument, and headed through the high street of the village, the glares and whispers stabbing at his defences as he walked along.

He came to a shop, a flower shop to be precise, if he remembered correctly it was owned by the Yamanaka clan, which the only member he knew was Ino…and they weren't exactly the best of friends; they weren't exactly friends at all. So she hated him, like everyone else, so what?  
He stood there looking at the flowers out on display, he always had taken a liking to nature, and their bright colours entranced him and pulled his mind away from less pleasant subjects.

He heard a bell ring, the bell that signified the opening of the store's door, stood there leaning against the frame was Ino, looking at him as if it was the strangest thing in the world to see him examining the flowers.  
"Naruto? What are you doing?" She asked in a voice that was too sweet for Naruto's taste, because it was hiding her anger, if Naruto had to guess he'd say she had become irritated by the fact that he hadn't just entered the store.  
'Well guess what? I'm not allowed in the damn store!' he raged inwardly, his appearance on the outside still suggested that he had zoned out while looking at the nature on display.

"Oh, wow, I guess I completely zoned out, sorry if I bothered you Ino." He said before giving her a grin and then began to walk away, Ino smirked, a clear indication that Naruto had made her happy.  
'That Naruto is such an idiot! I'm glad I don't have to be on a team with him!' Ino thought as she walked back inside, Naruto was long gone by then however.

Naruto wanted to visit Iruka, yet he didn't want to visit Iruka. His mind was torn between the two and of course he picked the answer that he thought would be best for everyone but himself, and headed to a rooftop that was perfect for watching the clouds.

He was walking up the stairs that led to the top, they were made of metal and were for fire escape purposes but went from ground level to the roof nonetheless, not wanting to be spotted he decided to use them instead of just jumping up, although when nearing the top he heard voices.

"Oi, Shikamaru…do you hear someone?" A voice which he recognised as Choji said,  
"It's probably Naruto…troublesome." Shikamaru answered and as soon as he did the two heard the footsteps get further and further away as Naruto turned and left.

The blonde sighed, if he was going to be sad he might as well do it in the prime time location, he found himself outside the academy, sitting on a small wooden swing that was positioned in the shade, he watched on as they went about their happy lives, he felt like he was punishing himself as he forced himself to sit there and endure it like he always did, it was his fault for being weak but that's when he felt those eyes again, staring at him from a distance as they always did.

'God dammit I hate her! What the hell is wrong with her? Is she seriously so pathetic that she can't even talk to someone? ...' Naruto thought angry at the girl that always watched him from a distance but soon shook his head.  
'That's not fair, she's shy, and I don't know anything about her who knows why she is like that.' He had thought of telling her that he knew she was there and that he found it unbelievably creepy but he couldn't bring himself to do it to the timid looking girl, she'd probably cry or at least be upset and that's not what he wanted, so he endured it.

He sat there for a couple of hours, crushing his own spirit with painful thoughts, questioning everything he wanted to do and replacing it with the harder, more painful choice each and every time. ' I should probably go home…why it's not like anybody is waiting for you there, just stay here.'  
was just one of the many crushing blows, he stood up after feeling he had wallowed enough but cringed when the girl also stood.

He walked through the small patch of forest she was hiding in behind him, but she managed to slip off to the side, meaning unless he actually chased her, he wouldn't be able to confront her. Or would he? He lead her towards a training ground where he slumped down 'happily' and let out a defeated sigh as he looked up to the sky, he knew she was there but closed his eyes.  
"I wish I had someone to talk to…" he said in a bored tone.

Hinata's eyes lit up with burning determination, 'Naruto-kun I will grant your wish!' she thought as she ran into the open, and slowly neared him.  
"A-Ano…I, uhm…Y-You made it as a genin too Naruto-kun?" she asked nervously, expecting to be turned away with disgust like she was when she spoke to her father.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly, so that he didn't startle her, he cringed again at the thought of talking to his obvious stalker, but shoved it to the back of his mind.  
"Yep! I'm a genin, are you a genin too…?" he asked not knowing the girls name; he could have sworn he knew it at one point but he tried to forget all about her, she nodded for her answer, not a great deal of help.

"Wow! You must be really strong then, especially since you're a Hyuuga, I bet you'll be the strongest one out of all them in no time!" he said happily with an indescribable amount of distaste hidden from her. She shook her head slowly.  
"I-I'm …my father tells me that I am very weak and I am a disgrace to the Hyuuga clan." She said with no signs of hatred but simply hidden traces of sadness and shame.  
'That one hurt.' Naruto thought as he felt guilty.

"Sometimes it's not fighting strength that's important, but the strength on the inside… those able to be selfless are truly strong, that's what I believe." He said sagely, his overly large grin present at the end of his sentence. Hinata blushed heavily, amazed by her Naruto-kun even more than usual, she sat down next to him in a daring act.  
"I-I wish I could b-be like you Naruto-kun." She said quietly, but Naruto shook his head with a sad smile. "Trust me, you don't wanna be like me. It was nice meeting you, I hope we talk again some time." And with that he left. Hinata now had the burning desire to found out more about him, he was a mystery to her.

Naruto walked through the town; the clear sky had been getting slowly hidden by dark clouds, so he had decided to go home. Then he saw his teammates, Sasuke with a genuine smirk-smile on his face and Sakura looking as if she was about to burst with joy, they were walking towards him and he was walking towards them, they walked past him and he walked past them. Nothing.

He opened the door to his apartment, today had been hard, just like every day but now he was okay, he had passed his tests for today and now he will be able to celebrate how he always did, by breaking down and allowing himself to show his weakness, his twelve years of weakness, his painful existence and that's not even throwing in the added loneliness.

hours passed as he stared of out his window, it was raining heavily and the day had turned to night, the blackened sky spat out raindrops that fell through the pitch black night, Naruto watched as the droplets dance down his window without any form of resistance, his tears freely fell down his cheek and he leant his forehead against the glass.

'Do I like the rain? ...Yes, the rain is good, it's like its showing the world my feelings, something that I'll never do myself.' He mused but heard a knock at his door, he dried his tears quickly and soon it looked like they had never been there, he walked to the door and opened it to reveal his landlord.

"Hey kid. My friends are going to need this apartment tonight." The man said as a statement, not a question.  
"That's alright, I'll get my coat." Naruto said with a smile, he walked into his room and pulled on his jacket and decided to take his headband with him.  
"They'll be here for a week." The man stated, Naruto just nodded in agreement before three other men came into the room, two of them jumping on his couch and the other one raiding his cupboards, deciding not to watch any more Naruto turned to leave.

"Kid, here's one weeks' worth of rent, since you won't be living here for that time, you know you're a great kid, people could learn a lot from you." The man said with a smile, Naruto's face lit up with happiness and he gently nudged the man's outstretched hand away from him denying the money.  
"Hearing that was worth more than a week's rent." He said softly as he walked out of the apartment, gently closing the door behind him until he heard the four men erupt into laughter.

"See what did I tell ya'!? You show him the slightest bit of kindness and you got him in the palm of ya' hands!" Naruto slammed his eyes shut, how could he have been so stupid? He let out a sigh and looked out into the night sky. 'It's a good job I like rain.' He thought as it pelted against his warm skin, cooling it. Although the night air was hot, the droplets were freezing causing the hot air to be of little relief to him.

Sitting in a tree, getting what little protection against the rain that he could, outside of the village of course, not like he would go there and think he would wake up in the morning if he fell asleep outside. No he was in the forest, like an animal. He laid against the tree with his back keeping him upright and closed his eyes, hoping sleep would capture him soon.

'I hope they're happy.'


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I'm too lazy to check through this for errors so apologies in advance, but I think it should be alright. Warning Yandere Hinata!

P.S. If you enjoy this, why not check out my other stories?

* * *

He opened the door slowly, after not visiting his own home for a week it felt strange, after taking in the interior of the apartment he sighed, the place had been trashed completely, stains on the carpet, smashed dishes and junk food packaging littering the living room, but he was much too tired to deal with that now.

After almost slamming his door shut, he wandered into his bedroom and looked down at his drawers, the only photo that he had was now face down upon them. He lifted the frame to see the damage that had been done, the glass had been smashed and a large red wine stain covered almost the entire image.  
"_I wonder if we could take another one sometime…"  
"I don't want to be a bother, I'm sure everyone is busy enough as it is."_

Naruto felt himself grit his teeth in an almost automatic reaction to hide any negative facial expression threating to expose itself, then in an attempt to calm himself his eyes slid shut as he undone his jacket zip, he really needed to get out of those drenched clothes.

Although he was quite proficient in survival, he couldn't change the weather after all and faced a nasty week of constant showers however, that didn't let it stop him from training, he could feel himself improving rapidly but would never reveal that to his team or anyone else for that matter, he was sure they would 'blame' the fox and he wasn't so sure that he could tell them that such a thing wasn't the case.

He casually threw the clothes to the side of the room, the place was a mess anyway, a little more wouldn't make much difference, he changed into his pyjamas and almost immediately slid into his bed, a much missed feeling of warmth and comfort washed over him and in a strange way he didn't feel as lonely, as if the blanket wrapped around him was hugging away his sadness, bedtime was a time of day he really enjoyed, but today he was 'lucky' due to his definite cold and decided to hit the hay earlier with hopes that he hadn't in fact caught pneumonia.

The time was 4pm although that soon crawled to 4.30 as Naruto's thoughts plagued him, he considered things about his last week, and he hadn't seen his team or anyone else his age – unless you count Hinata watching him from a distance, but he didn't take that into account. No, it was his team that really clung to his mind this time, he wondered if they even realised he had missed team training twice – well of course they noticed, but the thing he really had to ask himself was, if they even cared that he didn't attend.

Too be blunt; his conclusion was no. They did not care. If they wanted, he could have been located with practiced ease even by genin level shinobi; a messenger-nin would have no trouble informing him that he was wanted at the grounds to train with his team.

He pushed his head a little further under the covers and sighed, it was time to stop living in some fairy tale where his team would be anything more that people that he works with so to speak, if for some reason he needed to offer his life to save one of theirs he'd gladly do it, however he doubted it would work in reverse.

"_I guess I was wrong after all, I really hoped it would work out just like that too…" _He thought as he remembered the day he was given his team, he had already determined the team before the academy had set it, and that's what pained him the most, these people- he had estimated would be the most likely to accept him yet he was nothing but a thorn in their sides while holding back his strength to fit in, he wasn't ready to throw away what tiny acknowledgement he had gained, even if it was as the 'knucklehead' or 'looser', though he wondered who would really be stronger out of himself and Sasuke.

That was one of the reasons he 'picked' this team, Sasuke Uchiha, the top of his class but not only that – the boy was also alone, just like him, so that meant the two had a chance of understanding each other's pain somewhat better than others, even if there were different circumstances and even if his stubborn act that he portrayed to everyone said otherwise, he really did look up to the Uchiha 'Prodigy' somewhat.

The next was Sakura Haruno, a girl in which he considered to be the most beautiful thing alive, her pink her captured him from the first time he saw her, and for a short time after seeing her he was convinced she was the love of his life – so naturally she would be able to understand him. Yet things didn't work out all that great, in fact Naruto thought she treated him worse than all of the genin combined with her constant digs, especially when she was nothing special herself, but he couldn't help but find her loveable despite all of that even if his initial opinion of her changed alot.

The final member of his team was his sensei Kakashi Hatake, he had hoped for a strong jonin to teach him, well at least he got half of that, Kakashi was strong alright – after secretly digging up some dirt on him Naruto found that the man had once been an ANBU Captain and a child prodigy. One thing that Naruto really didn't like about the man was how well he hid his emotions, to the extent that it hurt when he was able to see past the act, as it usually involved 'not wasting time on that knucklehead.'

Naruto clenched his fists, he'd have to change but it would have to be subtle, they would suspect something if he suddenly transformed into some one of Sasuke's level and changed his attire to something more suitable, although he supposed the latter would be his first change to make as his usual clothes were all torn up anyway.

Naruto rolled onto his side facing the window, his back to his bedroom door and ignoring his ninja instincts he fell asleep.

"Sleep well Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed quietly as traced the back of her index finger up and down his cheek, Naruto opened the eye that was pressed against his pillow as he fought the urge to shiver from the soft touch, he managed to identify the culprit before closing his eye again.  
"We'll be together soon Naruto-kun, _I promise!_" the last of her words containing a slight edge to them.

Naruto clenched his sheet unconsciously as he felt her lean in, her breath warming his cheek giving him a strange feeling though he did his best to not show any signs of being awake.  
"Goodnight." She whispered into his ear before kissing him on his cheek. Naruto didn't react but rather froze, he didn't know if he should be happy about the fact that he had been kissed or about the fact that someone was here to tell him goodnight, even if he wasn't supposed to know about it.

He then thought about the situation, she had broken into his home and although the two had only talked once or maybe twice if Naruto thought about it, and now she was acting like this, he considered it somewhat freaky and actually kinda frightening he was about to think further into the matter when he felt something wrap around him, his eyes opening breaking his train of thought.

He looked down very slowly and cringed at what he saw, two arms holding him tightly around his midriff his eyes closed tight at the discovery and the feeling of Hinata face attempting to find comfort against his back really didn't help his situation, he looked outside, it was dark he guessed it was around the usual time he would goto sleep, and unwillingly he closed his eyes and attempted to sleep once again.

after 7 hours of no sleep, in an incredibly awkward situation, Naruto felt the arms around him unwrap and Hinata got out of the bed silently, if sleeping there would have been no way he would of noticed, he then felt another kiss upon his cheek before the girl seemingly left the apartment. Naruto finally indulged in being able to finally roll over, cracking one eye open ever so slightly he saw that she hadn't left quite yet as she rooted through his drawers.

After seeing her pick out the most recent t-shirt that he had worn around the apartment he saw her bring it up to her nose and sniff it with a strange satisfied look on her face, she looked back at him a large smile on her face that was complemented by a blush. Naruto thought she was attractive, sure, but that didn't make his situation any less weird.

Thankfully for Naruto she soon left after that incident and he was able to glance at his clock, 7:30 around the usual time he'd wake up, a worrying thought came around as he realised Hinata left exactly 10 minutes ago, he shivered before heading to his bathroom, completely disregarding the mess for now.

He sighed and guessed that he would wear the outfit that had been left to him by the third Hokage, apparently his father had it made for him so he wanted to keep it as a special momentum but if his father had intended for him to wear it, he should acknowledge those wishes, dark thoughts washed over Naruto and he found himself gritting his teeth as he resisted the urge to break down.

**"You could live differently, boy!"**  
"_Not now fox, I'm not in the mood."  
_**"Wouldn't you rather be a force to be reckoned with?"**  
_"I'm not letting you out."  
_**"Huhuhuhu, I've found out something rather **_**interesting**_**"  
**_"I said leave me alone!"  
_**"Hmph together we could be beyond powerful, if I escape someone would only try to capture me, you humans really don't think about these things."  
**_"Shut up! I don't know what you want but I don't care! It's your fault I live like this in the first place!"  
_**"My, my, I'm hurt…well then, why not let me be the one to make it all better? You could be strong Kit, together we'd be untouchable! What people don't like to accept is the fact that jinchuuriki have complete control over a tailed beasts power unless they try to supress it, isn't that right Naru-"**

Naruto snarled out loud as he managed to forcibly close the link between himself and the fox, his eyes golden yellow he realised as he caught his reflection in the window of his bedroom. He rubbed his eyes and felt a large amount of power flicker away from him_; _he had to supress the fox, right? That's what the Hokage had told him after he had found out about his 'condition'.

The blonde shook it off as he opened his cupboard and looked at the one hanging outfit that he owned, a gift from his father, he took it from its hanger and proceeded to put it on, using the window as a mirror he looked at his 'new' outfit.

It consisted off a dark black tank top, navy blue pants and silver, metal arm guards similar to that of an ANBU, he shook his head and decided the look was too different to his usual, experimenting he decided to change into his usual orange trousers and suddenly found himself appreciating the new look a whole lot more and instead of his usual blue sandals and blue head band he decided to wear a black pair that he had bought some time ago and wore a black headband with extra fabric left over when tied, he nodded his head happily and decided that it was far better than his original goofy look, he just wished he had a necklace of some sort.

After wolfing down a few cups of ramen for breakfast he raced towards the training ground at full speed while enjoying the looks he was getting, his now long hair covering parts his headband as the wind rushed through it, he felt uplifted, more like himself instead of some act. For a first time in a long time he felt somewhat happy.

He had arrived at the training ground earlier than everyone else, and decided to sit on one of the hand rails of the bridge and let his legs swing back and forth. He wasn't waiting long before Sakura arrived a strange look on her face before she frowned.

"Why did you have to turn up all of a sudden?! Me and Sasuke work better together when you're not here!" She huffed before folding her arms while awaiting his answer. Naruto felt his happy mood drain away and more as he looked down at his feet.  
"I don't know…" he muttered quietly as an awkward silence set over the two, Naruto dismounted from the bridge of the bar and walked past her without a word.  
"Where are you going!?" she shouted angrily at his back as Sasuke arrived.

The blonde walked past the raven in silence but momentarily the two shared a glance, the Uchiha giving Naruto a cold glare.

"She asked you a questi-"Sasuke began  
"Training…I'm going to train." Naruto said cutting him off  
"Don't think a change of clothes will stop you from being the dead last."

Naruto frowned facing away from the raven, that one had gotten to him and he was fighting back the urge to lash out and dissolve the act he had built up for so long, he let out a deep breath and kept walking.

"What's the matter dobe, got nothing to say?" the Uchiha mocked as Sakura giggled in encouragement.  
"It's better that we train without him Sasuke-kun." She said in her supressed fan girl voice,  
"Hmph, not like he'd be any use for the team anyway."

"Oi, settle down you three." Kakashi said as he suddenly appeared on the bridge, leaning against one of the handrails with his head in a book.  
"Naruto, it's good to see you attended this time, you have some serious work to do so err… go practice tree walking over there, Sasuke, Sakura come with me we can work on those team formations."

Naruto clenched his fists, he didn't want to be a part of this anymore, he couldn't take it, and these people weren't his friends and surely never would be, so why bother any longer? He'd just end up dying at a young age if he keeps practicing the already mastered tree walking in fact it didn't look the team was going to do their first mission any time soon so he had no need to worry about combat.

"Actually Kakashi-sensei, I came today to tell you that I'm quitting team 7." Naruto blurted out, frowning in anticipation of what might come.  
"So your finally listening to everybody, you're going to quit being a ninja before you get yourself killed." Sasuke stated with an elitist tone of voice.

Kakashi shot Sasuke a death glare that told him to shut the hell up, sure the kid was annoying sometimes, but this was his team, _his _team! Not only was he about to lose a member, but that member just so happened to be his sensei's son, perhaps because the boy reminded of him of Obito so much, he couldn't help but think of him as annoying, a waste of time, but he didn't hate the boy did he?

"W-Wait Naruto, think about this…we're your team."  
Naruto remained silent before Sakura joined in  
"Just let him quit Kakashi-sensei, we'll be stronger without him."  
"Sakura is right, who needs a dobe on the team anyway." Sasuke agreed.

"That's enough both of you." Kakashi stated in a commanding tone  
"C'mon Naruto, I know you; you're not someone who'd give up at anything!" Kakashi said with an eye smile.

**"You don't know anything about me!"** Naruto snarled and revealed a golden pair of eyes to the rest of his team who gasped at the sudden change.  
"A kekkei-genkai?" Sasuke blurted out,  
"No, much more serious than that." Kakashi informed.

His golden eyes quickly returned to their original shade of dazzling blue before the blonde spoke.  
"As they said, this team would be better off without me, I'll inform the Hokage straight away."  
"Is this why you skipped training?!" Kakashi asked franticly, losing a team-mate was not on his agenda today.

"Don't pretend to care, Kakashi-sensei –no, Kakashi, it only makes it harder to bare." Naruto spoke quietly as he walked towards the village leaving a stumped Kakashi.

"Hmph, it's not like we need him." Sasuke stated.  
"Training is cancelled today." Kakashi spoke.  
"But Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura pleaded  
"I said, training is cancelled!" Kakashi shouted which caused the two to be alarmed by the fact that Kakashi raised his voiced made them nod slowly.

Kakashi sighed, today the memorial stone meeting was going to be even than harder than usual.

"Are you quite sure that this is for the best Naruto-kun?" The third spoke, and received a firm nod as answer.  
"I see, you know continuing as a ninja without a team might be a little difficult, are you sure that you don't want to find a team?" the third asked with concern in his voice.  
Naruto just shook his head.

"I don't need anyone else! I'll become the best ninja all by myself and be the Hokage!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically.  
"Hmmm, well if it is what you wish for. If you change your mind please don't hesitate to inform me." Suddenly the door best open.

"Sorry to intrude Hokage-sama, Naruto! You're here!" Kakashi announced.  
"Come back to team seven Naruto, it won't be team seven without you!"  
"Kakashi, Naruto-kun has made his decision; a boy named Sai has been confirmed to fill the empty slot in your team."  
"See Kakashi, your team won't be disbanded, so don't worry! I've thought of everything!" Naruto announced, Kakashi was thrown in a loop.

"Naruto…but earlier you acted so differently…" Kakashi muttered out loud.  
"What're you talking about Kakashi? You really shouldn't stay up all night reading those perverted books!" Naruto forced a laugh which was accompanied by a small chuckle from the hokage before the blonde exited the room leaving Kakashi completely unable to ask him to re-instate himself back to team seven.

The words suddenly repeated in Kakashi's mind.  
"**You don't know anything about me!**"  
Kakashi sighed and brushed his hand through his hair, it was no use trying now, he already had a replacement member anyway, he should just move on like with every other one of his failures. In fact he found himself thinking somewhat coldly that Naruto wouldn't be alive for very long as a lone ninja anyway.

Naruto sighed heavily,  
"_A hard day as always!" _he though enthusiastically, but couldn't help but cringe when he used that happy tone of voice, he felt like crap, but lower, and there was no one who knew, no one who cared enough to realise, he considered the fact that the slightly insane Hinata may care, but would never be able to realise from a distance.

He looked up at the clouds above the hokage monument and wondered.  
_"Why did it have to be me? …Well I guess it doesn't really matter" _as he kicked his legs that were now swinging over the edge of the Cliffside as he sat somewhat comfortably.  
He looked down at his torn up hands somewhat satisfied, it showed the dedication of his training  
"_Kakashi was right though, I doubt I'd last long as a lone ninja."  
"But…"  
"…maybe that wouldn't be so bad."_

He put his hands behind his head and laid on them watching as the clouds went by, trying not to remember anything about the world as they drifted on.

"Dobe."  
"Go away." Naruto replied calmly to Sasuke without moving a millimetre.  
"Why did u have golden eyes earlier?" Sasuke said with a slightly annoyed voice.  
"Because Sasuke, it's like everyone said, I'm a freak, a monster, a demon, a dead last lone ninja who won't amount to anything, knowing my luck I'll probably even die on my first mission, heh heh."  
"There you happy now? You won alright? You don't have the dead last on your team anymore right?  
I'm alone and you won so you don't have to tell me how your so much better than me anymore, I've always knew that anyway…after all I'm nothing but a looser."

"W-What are yo-"Sasuke said awkwardly.  
"I told you didn't I, you've won, you've gotten what you wanted so that should be enough, I have literally nothing more I can give to try and make everyone else happy."  
"Oh wait."

Without warning a kunai whizzed towards Sasuke's skull faster than he can react, suddenly red eyes flared to life and he avoided the blade.

"What the hell are you doing?!"  
"Now there's nothing else I can do." Naruto replied to the raven.  
"What're you…" Suddenly Sasuke realised the change in his vision.  
"You…"

"That's right. Now please just go away."  
The now red eyed boy didn't know how to respond, so he simply ignored the comment.  
"You don't seem to care about dying."  
"Why should i?" the blonde calmly answered.  
"Hmph, whatever idiot, if you wanna get yourself killed that's up to you." Sasuke said hoping that the blonde would bite like usual.  
"That's right. Now please go away." Naruto spoke again calmly, still looking towards the clouds.  
"Fine, whatever! I'm sure the replacement will be a lot better than the dead last like you anyway!"

"The only reason you came here, was because you were afraid he'd be better than you, this has nothing to do with me."  
"Or should I say… "Naruto's voice quickly changed from its calm real voice to his fake happy voice.  
"What did you say teme!? There's no way he'll be better than me! I'm going to be the hokage!"  
Naruto shouted back to the already leaving Uchiha before sighing, he couldn't even watch the clouds without a kick in the ribs from his harsh life.

He looked back up the clouds, even those made him feel lonely, he bit back tears as he thought about what he said, maybe it would be better to just die on his first mission, he just couldn't deal with this anymore, he felt as if he was bleeding out, the wounds were already set – he was just waiting to fade.

His eyes closed as the first tear he'd shed in public in over five years danced down his cheek, it was not so quickly wiped away as he somewhat enjoyed the relief of not fighting against something for even one small moment of his life, painful memories flooded to his brain as he recalled how he used to cry in the streets, mobs of strangers, people that he would grow up to risk his life protecting, hurling objects at him along with hateful words like he was a rat in the kitchen, he clenched at his chest and the nasty pull on his heart strings as another tear threatened to fall.

His act now that of a beaten hero, the second tear washed away his remaining strength as a silent sob escaped him and the damn broke, his eyes quickly covered by his arm, hiding his whole face, he smiled a broken, genuine smile, he wasn't happy, he wasn't enthusiastic and he gave up even on simple decisions.

People didn't even know him, they didn't know Naruto, they know some act that took over and became Naruto, and so if he wasn't even himself any more than what was he? He was nothing, nothing but a broken shell left to rot in silence while the outside pretended everything was alright, he didn't want that, but what else could he do?

His sore eyes closed, his sleep deprived body exhausted from fighting back sobs and he was whisked away into unconsciousness.

It was cold. It was always cold. Rain trickled down her sky blue bangs before trailing down the soft skin of her face, managing to remove some of dirt and grime from it as they travelled, her cold, empty cerulean eyes were like that of a fallen angel, lacking the warmth they once held.  
Her slender frame was no help in these conditions; in fact she was often mistaken for being younger than her real age and not in a good way, no, she was still only thirteen but more importantly, her slim body was chilled through due to her living conditions.

Her hair stretched down to the small of her back, but due to her current position, it rested upon the hard ground as puddles formed around it. The girl was hugging her knees close to her, holding in every bit of warmth she could, the slightly too large brown rag not providing much as it were, yet still her face remained emotionless.

She could hear footsteps. Footsteps coming towards her. But before she managed to turn and view the approaching person, she had finally reached her limit, and fell to the wet floor, unconscious.

Raining. It was raining again. The blonde opened his bloodshot blue eyes as he looked up towards the grey sky, perhaps it too needed to cry today, the harsh raindrops hitting against his face wasn't a pleasant feeling, but he decided to endure it for a little while, he could feel his vest top was covered with mud that had formed thanks to the rain. He closed his eyes and smiled and momentarily felt at peace, yes this is how he felt, beaten, kicked down in the dirt and wasn't so sure if getting up again was the right thing to do. He could stay here…he could. No one would come, no one would care. All he would have to do is wait; wait until the pain – until everything went away.

With a heavy heart he decided that he should die In action at least, perhaps the Hokage would feel sympathy for him if he were to die here, perhaps Hinata would spill tears for his lost cause, no, he would die as an honourable lone ninja, confusing his enemy as a small smile brightened his face as he was relieved from his duty of living. He opened his now glassy eyes as the harsh thoughts of his own death felt strangely inviting.

"Heh, nothin' but trash after all, heh heh." He laughed in pity of himself as he stood and looked over the village of Konoha, he truly loved the village because it was filled with happy people, sometimes he'd be able to imagine himself being happy and that eased his pain, but up here, alone, looking down on something that would forever be the step he couldn't take, he felt the weight of everything and began walking back to the village.

With lifeless steps that seemed to lack purpose, close inspection into his body language shown holes in his performance, letting his miserable inner feelings shine through, but the attention was quickly pulled away from that by his overly large foxy grin, the grin he had worn around town for so long that it didn't even feel like lying anymore.

Taking a detour through the back streets of Konoha in hopes of a little shelter Naruto walked through the dark town, having fallen asleep for a good few hours, the puddles at his feet not affecting him what as ever as he looked to the sky once more.

All of a sudden he heard a thud and a splash, something clicked in his head and he ran towards the sound, water sloshing beneath his own feet as he sprinted towards the sound.

"_Isn't that a person!?" _he questioned while still approaching, he knelt down and rolled the girl onto her back, the first thing he noted was that the girl definitely didn't look healthy, the rag that she was wearing was soaked and looked as filthy as the rest of her.

"_I've got to get her some place warm, the hospital maybe? I doubt they'd treat her well if I took her there…looks like I've got no choice."_He concluded before scooping the incredibly light girl up into his arms, without wasting another second he set off towards his apartment.

He opened the door after unlocking it and walked into his apartment, the small girl that was being held in the most delicate bridal style carry that he could manage was taken over to his couch where he gently lay her down.

"Oi…Oi…" He said just above a whisper, he would definitely need to change her into dry clothes so that she didn't end up with pneumonia. The girl caught his attention when a few of her dripping wet blue locks moved position and she began to stir, he leaned over her to check if she was in fact awake when suddenly her haunting blue eyes snapped open.

She began staring at him and then quickly recoiled putting a small distance between the two of them as she shuffled up the couch and held up her arms as if to defend from a blow. Seeing this the blonde backed off and spoke to her softly.  
"Easy, easy, I won't hurt you."  
The girl cautiously lowered her arms while keeping eye contact with him at all times.

"What's your name?" he said in a gentle tone, hoping that he would be able to get some sort of information out of her, he was sure that someone would definitely be looking for her. To his dismay however the girl pointed her chin upwards and patted her throat softly before shaking her head a negative in order to display the fact that she couldn't speak.

Looking at her neck Naruto could see that it was abnormally red, and imagined that her throat had been scolded in some way, he nodded politely in reply before fetching some spare baggy clothes that she would need to change in whether she liked it or not.

"Here, you should change into these dry clothes, or else your sickness will only get worse, use the bathroom over there" Naruto said still trying use a comforting tone when speaking, the blonde male pointed towards the bathroom after explaining to her.

She shakily got up of the couch and nodded, still keeping her eye contact with the blonde as she took the clothes and walked backwards towards the bathroom, not turning her back to him for a second before she closed the door and disappeared from his sight.

Moments later she came out of the room dried off with a black t-shirt which had a white Uzumaki swirl printed upon it which totally engulfed her figure, for pants she was now wearing a pair of Naruto's black combats that had never been worn, he given her some plain white socks, not thinking that sandals would be necessary.

She began staring at him again which un-nerved him and he couldn't help but look away, she was completely emotionless or so it seemed, almost artificial. Suddenly he remembered that she didn't look well and began making her some tea to warm her up, every now and again while waiting he would turn and smile, but her actions didn't change.

He nervously handed her the cup of hot tea.  
"Be careful it's hot, don't drink it yet." He spoke and only got a nod for an answer before she sat on the couch and held the small cup close to her body using it as a heater.

An idea popped into Naruto's head as he rummaged through a set of drawers that were now covered in stains, he snarled at the thought before continuing, not long after he found what he was looking for, a notebook and pen.

He strode over to the girl and hoped she knew how to read and write as he passed it to her.  
"You can use this to write, ya know, so you can answer and stuff."  
Trusting him for the first time as if his analysis was over, she looked down at the pad, flipped to a page and wrote.  
'I understand.'

Naruto tried to force a smile, but couldn't quite manage but fixed his mistake by attempting conversation.  
"Err…so what's your name?" he asked, glad he wasn't under her stare anymore.  
She looked down at the pad and began to write before looking up at him again, as if wanting to see his reaction as she shown him what she had written down.

'Your smile is a lie.'

"The truth is painful, lying is easier on everybody." He said with a sad smile before walking to the sink and began cleaning the remaining dishes that those civilians had left, it was no wonder the fox was talking to him more and more with the impulses he was having.

His ears heard the small scratching of pen on paper, he was sure that was a side effect of the fox too; he always had those improved senses. He looked over his shoulder to see what she had written.

'What reason is it, that you are sad?' the paper read, he turned away and continued his chore before speaking out to the almost lifeless girl.  
"There is no point in being sad, no matter the reason, it won't change anything." His stubborn act spoke for him.  
After the scribbling noise repeated he sat on the couch, leaving room between them, waiting for her to hold up her sign.  
'Then you will become like me.'  
"like you…?"  
'There is no point in being sad, no matter the reason, it won't change anything' she then flipped the page.  
'There is no point in being happy, no matter the reason, it won't change anything.'

Naruto looked slightly unnerved before trying again to change the subject,  
"So then…did I ask your name?" he said nervously while itching the back of his head.  
'Are you the one who brought me here, or was it another?' the paper read.  
"It was me, what has that got to do with your name?" he replied, she seemed to be avoiding that topic completely but it wasn't in him to force it out of her.  
'I see, so you're my new master then.'

"_Master? What does she mean master?" _he thought, maybe she was some kind of robot after all.  
"I'm not your master, what is your name?" he tried.  
'My name can be anything you wish it to be, master.' After reading this Naruto sighed heavily, seeing that the girl either didn't have a name, didn't like it – possibly due to her old 'master' or maybe didn't want to be reminded of her past, all of his acting really paid off in terms of reading people, even the emotionless were effected apparently. She held up a new sign for the blonde to read.

'What is my name, Master?'  
"Aoi. Aoi is your name."  
The girl shown him a small smile which warmed him through, maybe he'd wait until his second mission.

* * *

After the reviews I gotten asking for more I decided I would comply, sorry if it didn't live up to the first or if it was a bit overkill or lacklustre, hope you enjoyed reading it!

Psst…and if you did, leave a review, I really love getting them!


End file.
